African traditional medicine solution to coronavirus —Jegede

Dr Jegede Obafemi is a senior research fellow in Traditional African Medicine and teaches at the Institute of African Studies, University of Ibadan. In this interview with Deputy Editor, DAPO FALADE, he also claimed that the solution to the coronavirus pandemic lies in African medicinal herbs and leaves.

Some few years ago, the Ebola virus broke out and Nigeria was able to overcome it. What do you think is happening now with the case of the coronavirus, a pandemic that is now threatening global peace?

What is happening is a response of nature to man’s consumeristic tendencies, man’s consumerism, man’s over-exploitation of natural phenomenon and man situating himself within the centre of the universe which is Western anthropology which situates man at the centre of the universe. By implication, this world was created by God for man and man alone. Man is made to dominate, to explore and exploit the universe. The over-exploitation is what is causing periodic epidemics and pandemics. This would start in one place and it will spread all over the world. Incidentally, it always starts from where the exploitation is too disturbing; where they are really entering into the sky, into the earth and into the ocean, overtaking everywhere. To me, coronavirus is a response of nature to man’s consumerism.

 

But some people ascribed it to a sort of biological warfare between China and some western countries, especially the United States of America (USA)…

Yes, I am not opposed to that theory. The theory is also about man’s desire to want to dominate; it is still about what I said about consumerism…

 

It was said that the virus was created, especially by the Chinese to fight the western countries…

The questions should have been, ‘why was it easy or possible to create the virus? How did they get the materials or instruments used to create the virus?’ all these are within nature. Again, what was the intention of China in doing this? It is because China wanted to dominate the world. they wanted to ridicule or humble the US. It is still about human desire, wanting to dominate and wanting to rule over everything. This same spirit in man, there is no way it would not lead man into terrible jeopardy.

If man has been very humble from the beginning, we would have been having heaven here. We would have been experiencing the best of life. But man is too domineering; we want to be everywhere. Man is becoming a problem of the Creator himself; in fact, man is becoming the real problem of God and the real problem of the universe is man and that is why we are in trouble.

 

Having said all that, but do you think that is a reason strong enough for a set of people to want to create a virus which potency is strong enough to exterminate the entire world?

It is still about exploitation and consumerism. What is consumerism? It is the tendency to want to take over everything at the expense of others. It is like reducing others to nothing and taking over everything from them. All the elites are political juggernauts are all consumerists; they would weaken the poor, mess them up; take over the brain and the energy of the poor to enrich themselves. That is what China is doing. America has been doing that all over the world. You Know China has been humbled, but it has been doing a lot of things globally. The whole world is now looking towards China. But the world is not realising this; the whole world is not properly understanding the place of China in global economy, in global technology, in global politics and in global power. So, China now wants to prove itself. If China is able to conquer coronavirus, as it is now, US is now saying it is tired, Italy is down and almost the entire Europe is now in trouble, China is now saying ‘we are able and you can see who has the power’. It is all about trying to demonstrate and articulate clearly that China is above the world, especially the US.

 

Beyond the American or Eurocentric view, what role do you think alternative medicine can play in curbing the ravaging coronavirus?

I think the question is, ‘how would the African man understand, translate or interpret the phenomenon of coronavirus?’ it is assumed that any epidemic can become pandemic; that is not impossible. But immediately it gets to a particular arena, the way it is come from a far distance and it is getting to a particular route, it is the people who to have now reconstruct the virus. They should not see the virus exactly in the same way it is coming. They have to reinvent the virus in the context of their cosmology; in the context of their epistemology or in the context of their ontology. If you understand the virus the way it is coming and you want to just take it like that, there is no way the virus will not overwhelm you. This is because you have not translated or interpreted it. So, how the African man see the virus?

The African man, particularly the indigenous Yoruba man, will see the virus as the expression of the anger of the Obaluaye, the god of clean air; the god who is in charge of oxygen, unpolluted air. So, the pollution of air is the anger of Obaluaye and the purity of air translate to the joy of Obaluaye. The indigenous African man would see it from that perspective.

And come to think of it; the coronavirus is airbone; it is translated into the air. So, in the same vein, the air is polluted, it is not good and so the air is angry. The African man will now go to Obaluaye and ask what has happened and what to do about it and Obaluaye would tell them what is possible. They would go to Ifa and offer all the necessary sacrifice. In other words, the African man will not see it as virus; they will not see it from that western scientific ontological point of view. They will see it as the anger of the god and when the god is now appeased to and made happy, then the virus will go away or it will be accommodated in a more conducive place like in the tree, the river or the forest, but definitely not in the human body. This is because the human body is the best place for virus; it has blood which it can drink and increase in number. But they don’t such in a tree.

So, the deity and the rituals can relocate and that is what we call the negotiation theory, a situation whereby the African man will want to negotiate with the virus itself and ask, ‘Hello virus, you have been troubling us. Please now, what is the problem and what do you want?’ they will bring the virus into a reality and they have a one-on-one negotiation.

 

Could what you said explain what the Ooni of Ife, Oba Enitan Ogunwusi, said on Monday that Ifa predicted the outbreak of the virus some six months ago?

Yes, Ifa predicted it; it explained it very clearly and this is now getting out of hand, just like President Donald Trump said that the Americans are really tired; that they have explored every available scientific method and they have failed them. Now, what do you do? You go to the deity. The Americans have approached the deity and seeking for his face. The same thing is applicable here in Africa. We will now go to our own deity and the deity will be pleaded with to help us take the virus away. So, the Ooni of Ife was extremely wise and it was extremely timely of him to have spoken the way he spoke this time around.

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He also spoke about solution to the epidemic through herbs and leaves. How possible or viable is this?

I must tell you that most of the time, we have refused to listen to the voice of wisdom, especially it comes from our ancestors. We have regarded our ancestors as idiots. In a sane society, when a problem gets this disturbing, you don’t go anywhere but go back to your ancestors and ask them and they will tell you the way out. Our ancestors have dealt with this problem.

I personally have said unequivocally that I have a recipe that is capable of preventing coronavirus so much that we don’t have to lock down anywhere. If the people continue to use the recipe regularly, it will boost your immune system and the virus will not affect you. Because it is all about a virus, like I always say, is there any problem mankind experienced that God has not provided solution?

 

Now what is the solution to this particular epidemic, using alternative medicine?

Government should come and ask us questions, they should come and hire us. The only effective solution is the traditional medicine.

 

How could traditional medicine be the only way out?

Let us go back to our plants; it is one sure way to get out of this problem. Everybody should eat what is natural now. Go away from whatever that is synthetic; avoid every synthetic thing now. Take natural stuffs, including vegetables, natural fruits and try to put bitter leaf in everything that you cook, including your soups. This time around, take immunity-boosting foods regularly; some of them may however be a little bit ritualistic. We call it aseje or ajesara. It will boost your immunity.

 

Have you been in touch with the government and its agencies in proffering solutions to the problems?

Yes, we wrote a letter to the Oyo State Ministry of Health and to the World Health Organisation (WHO), asking that they should allow us to be part of the agenda in the whole struggle to want to put an end to the coronavirus pandemic. But you know some of these things are about lies: they don’t want to get solutions very quickly because they are yet to recoup their money. China is able to get solution through traditional medicine. Yes, they created the problem, but you too can create solution through traditional medicine. I do tell my people that now the US is begging us, the ongoing problem can enable us to enslave America and they will now be coming to us to seek for our traditional medicine.

I am not a baby, but a doctor of traditional medicine, for crying out loud. So, I mean all that I am saying that, using our own African theory of knowledge, African medicine is able to prevent and cure effectively coronavirus or COVID-19. In fact, nature is so interesting; there is no way it will leave us desolate. Nature has given us a way out of problem before the problem comes.

NIGERIAN TRIBUNE